Real Madrid has apologised to China following controversial comments by Kylian Mbappé that mocked former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, triggering a backlash on social media and prompting the suspension of Spanish football broadcasts on state television.

Mao, who is blamed by historians for millions of deaths, remains a highly sensitive figure in China. Mbappé’s remarks have made him the latest international sports star to face criticism from Beijing.

In a now-deleted video interview with French programme The Bridge, the Real Madrid striker spoke about finding a meme featuring his face edited onto “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator” — an apparent reference to Mao.

The Spanish giants subsequently issued an apology, saying: “The club wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any offence caused by the recent remarks of our player Kylian Mbappé.”

The 15-time European champions added that they supported the apology made by Mbappé, who had expressed regret over his comments and reaffirmed his respect for the Chinese people.

A day earlier, the French forward had issued an apology in French, Chinese and English.

“My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappé said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded on Wednesday, saying: “We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made.”

Meanwhile, LaLiga said it “deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappé’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans” after broadcasts of its matches were suspended in the country.

China’s state-run Global Times had previously criticised the club, arguing in an editorial that Real Madrid’s alleged tolerance of such behaviour had contributed to the controversy.

Commercial partnerships cancelled as LaLiga broadcasts suspended

The fallout has also affected Mbappé’s commercial relationships in China.

Beverage company Dongpeng, which used AI-generated images of the forward in advertisements during this year’s World Cup, announced on Tuesday that it had ended its partnership with the player. Dairy brands Mengniu and Milkground also reportedly severed their ties with him.

China Media Group (CMG), which oversees public broadcaster CCTV, announced that it would suspend LaLiga broadcasts. The Spanish competition is the world’s second-richest football league, behind England’s Premier League.

The 27-year-old continued to face widespread criticism from Chinese internet users on Wednesday, with some comments also containing racist language.

“His remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people, so they cannot be translated,” one user wrote on the social media platform Weibo.

The original joke about Mao was not circulating on China’s tightly controlled social media platforms, either because it had not been reposted or had been removed.

Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu also froze Mbappé’s account, which has more than one million followers. His Weibo account faced similar restrictions, with a notice stating that the user had been banned for violating laws or the platform’s community rules.

Some Chinese media reports also claimed that luxury brands Dior and Hublot had removed content featuring Mbappé from their Weibo pages. However, an AFP search using the player’s Chinese name returned no results on either brand’s account.

Mbappé’s commercial image in China under pressure

The controversy has also raised questions about the future of Mbappé’s brand in the Chinese market.

During a visit to an Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district, AFP found Real Madrid shirts available for purchase, but none featuring the striker’s name.

Chinese state media have previously described Mbappé as a “footballing sensation” and praised his talent. His image has appeared widely on billboards, soft-drink advertisements and social media.

The forward is sometimes affectionately nicknamed “Guigui”, meaning “turtle” in Chinese, because of his resemblance to a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.

Other major international sports organisations have also faced backlash in China.

In October 2019, China suspended sponsorship agreements with the NBA, while state broadcaster CCTV stopped showing NBA games for a year. The dispute followed a social media post by Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey, who wrote: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”

The post referred to protests in Hong Kong that Beijing had condemned as separatist and seditious.

Commenting on the wider issue, China’s official People’s Daily newspaper said in an opinion article that respecting other countries’ history, culture, social customs and national sentiments was a fundamental principle of international interaction.